Mark Osborne, the exiting shooting tenant of the National Trust in the Peak District, is a very well-known name in shooting circles. He is not a nobody, he is someone for whom ‘failure is not an option’ according to Lord James Percy in Fieldsports magazine. Mr Osborne is prone to tell people that he is a very rich and powerful man (he told me that once), so it’s likely that the parting of the ways with the NT may have given him some pause for thought.
From what we have seen in the NT statement, it seems that a difference of opinion over birds of prey might have been one factor in the NT’s decision as they put a lot of emphasis on any new tenant ensuring an increase in bird of prey numbers.
A couple of years ago I wrote of Mr Osborne as he seemed to have had something of a conversion to being a big admirer of the Hen Harrier but those in the shooting community have pointed out how unlucky Mr Osborne has been in the past to have managed land near to which birds of prey have been found poisoned. But that last article was written long ago, in 2009; surely that run of bad luck can’t have continued?
This blog, and our big brothers in Raptor Persecution UK, thought that it might be interesting to see how lucky or unlucky Mr Osborne has been on the land in which he has had an involvement over the last few years. We have a list of over 50 land holdings to work with. Watch this space to see whether we can make any sense of this dossier – but it might take a while.
We wish Mr Osborne good luck with birds of prey on all his current and future grouse moor involvements. He’s welcome to a Guest Blog here if he would like to write one.
I somehow doubt that Mark Osborne has yet signed our e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting – but that needn’t put you off.
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I found this regarding our friend, Mr O:
http://www.fieldsportsmagazine.com/Shooting-Grouse/grouse-religion-at-glenogil.html
It reveals an interesting mind-set, in which the production of large numbers of grouse is the be all and end all. There’s one paragraph about other birds (somewhat reminiscent of the Countryfile propaganda), but one has to wonder whether the reality might be somewhat different in the face of this grouse obsession.
Yes this quote is revealing too with the ‘removal’ not sustainable cull of Mountain Hares. They don’t even try and hide it when they think no one is listening.
‘The Game Conservancy has done much research into tick dynamics and the effectively proved theory is that steadily and with removal of other vectors such as deer and hares’
I like your sense of humour Mark. I, too, hope you can find an estate where Mark Osborne has been lucky in having some hen harriers (or any other raptors) though I fear not. To my knowledge his run of bad luck also extends in some cases to badgers, deer and mountain hares – they just simply seem to die off. Not much fun being rich and powerful if you are followed by such misfortune. I haven’t had a Christmas card from him since we spoke of his bad luck on Glenogil Estate some years ago.
Mr O is clearly so rich and important that he needs more letters after his name than in his name itself. I struggled a bit with the last set: MBAE: ideas anyone? Surely not the rather sinister sounding Masters of Biological and Agricultural Engineering from North Carolina State University, a ‘flexible 30-hour degree program [which] has no advisory committee, [and] no final exam and no seminar requirement.’
I wanted to find an anagram for Mr O and all his letters but one from his name alone tells part of the story: ‘banker’s moor’.
Seriously; that it is Mr O who has got is marching orders surely greatly increases the impact of the NT decision. Excellent.
Excuse me Mr Alan, but maybe you should meet Mark Osborne before you go talking rubbish about him, as you have clearly never been fortunate enough to meet him.
And, if you must know, his full name is Mark Osborne FRICS, FAAV, MBAE (and you might want to look up what MBAE means before you start trying to be clever).
Cuthbert – thank you for your comment and welcome to this blog. How thoughtful of you to like your own comment before it is even posted – wise precaution! I don’t think FRICS, FAAV MBAE is part of Mr Osborne’s name is it?
Hi Mark, yes it is part of Mark Osborne’s name. If you don’t believe me, look it up on his website (www.jmosborne.co.uk).
Avery have you accepted defeat you oaf?
Malb – ah! A second well-judged comment, thank you.
Avery buddy you haven’t answered my question pal
Surely the NT should have been aware in the first place that the persecution of birds of preys was likely to occur on their land if they lease it to any tenant for driven grouse shooting, ***************?
End of comment edited out by MArk
Mr mark Osborne now moving to an Invernessshire estate
mark Avery hasn’t seen his dick in years
mark avery’s left bollock (interesting name) – thank you for yur first comment here.
many thanks, so what is your desirable outcome for Osborne’s punishment
many thanks, so what is your desirable outcome for Osborne’s punishment then?
Come on Marky boy, exposing Cuthbert for liking his own comment whist your out here writing spelling mistakes. Your not *yur* you imbecile! Better luck next time